Book Blitz: Alex | Zoya Tessi

Their wishes were simple and modest. Fate had other things in store though, and she can be a real bitch sometimes.
All he wanted was to get the job done and somehow to endure those long months playing nanny to a spoiled little rich girl. Without strangling her with his bare hands in the process. Well, it is going to be much easier said than done.
All she wanted was to escape the past and live like any other girl. Her plan definitely didn’t include the arrogant, tattooed savage, with his awful mohawk and lack of social graces, whose only mission was to stick real close and mess up her life.But, people aren’t always what they seem to be, are they?

I strode into the room confidently and, hands on hips, placed myself between Alex and the TV. Casting the joystick aside, he leaned back further and raised an eyebrow at me. I imagined fires being put out by one of his cold stares.
“Don’t you think it’s time to earn some of the money Nikolai pays you?” I asked quietly, careful not to let Beth overhear.
“On the contrary, Princess. I don’t think Nikolai pays me enough. Spending all my days in your sweet company qualifies me for special, early retirement.”
“Oh really…” I looked him full in the face and pointed to the chandelier. “The bulb blew this morning and needs replacing.”
“You’re right.” He nodded and continued to look at me, with no intention of making a move.
“Are you trying to make me lose it, or am I just imagining it?”
“No. I’m waiting for you to ask me nicely.”
“It wouldn’t cross my mind to ask you for anything.”
“You don’t need to ask me, exactly, just a few polite words: Alex, would you change the bulb? It’s not hard, trust me.”
“Are you serious?”
I couldn’t believe that he, of all people, felt entitled to instruct me about manners. God, he was infuriating. I regarded him carefully, a wicked smile building at the corners of my mouth.
“Alex, honey, would you be so kind as to change the bulb in the chandelier, it would mean such a lot to me?” I asked in the most sugary voice possible.
I watched as a barely noticeable look of satisfaction appeared on his face and smiled even more. Some men actually lived in the conviction that their word must always be the last.
“And please, while you do that,” I blinked at him like some kind of cartoon, “be sure and get electrocuted, would you?”

Author Bio:
Zoya spent years doing volunteering work all across Europe, from cleaning school basements in Northern Russia to excavating Stone Age artifacts in Euskadi (the Basque country) and renovating castles from the middle ages in Southern France. She always dreamed of working with ‘Doctors without borders’ somewhere out in Africa, but ended up doing an ‘ordinary job’ in one of the smaller European countries.
Her greatest passion is devouring each and every book that comes within her reach.